Why this international student commutes from CHINA each week to study at an Aussie university – and what it reveals about our cost-of-living crisis

An international student who flew between China and Australia for 11 weeks straight has revealed the plane tickets were cheaper than paying rent in Melbourne.

Xu Guangli, 28, traveled from his home in Dezhou, China’s Shandong province, to Melbourne for 11 weeks between August and October this year.

Mr Xu made the grueling 8,800km journey every week to complete his master’s degree in arts management from RMIT University.

Each return flight from Dezhou to Melbourne took three days and cost him $1,500.

‘A round trip takes about 72 hours. A one-way trip takes about 10 to 13 hours by plane,” Mr. Xu said SBS Mandarin.

Shockingly, the 28-year-old discovered that the cost of the plane tickets was cheaper than the cost of living in Melbourne.

‘The total costs are not much different. But I think the money could be better spent [in China] because the overall costs are lower here,” he said.

Mr Xu slept on a friend’s couch during the one night he was in Melbourne during the week before catching a flight to China the next day.

He said he did the trips “out of love” so he could visit his girlfriend who moved back to Dezhou after completing her university studies in Australia.

“Living alone in Melbourne is too lonely,” Mr Xu told local newspaper Dazhong Daily.

Mr Xu said he wanted to spend more time with his loved ones after coming to Australia eight years ago to further his studies.

He completed a bachelor’s degree in game design and a management course.

Before embarking on his three-month solo trip to and from China, Mr. Xu investigated whether his degree would be recognized in China.

He also considered whether he could afford the costs of completing the required course from China and the recruitment timelines.

Mr Xu said flights flew regularly between China and Australia and he never encountered any problems traveling between the two countries.

His journey started at 7am on a Monday, when he was due to leave his home for the airport in Jinan, about 126km south-east of Dezhou, before flying on to Melbourne.

Mr Xu completed the grueling 8,800km journey every week for 11 weeks to complete his master’s degree in arts management from RMIT University (stock image)

After spending a night in the city, Mr. Xu was scheduled to fly back to China on Wednesday evening.

Mr. Xu, who graduated in October, is currently taking a break from his grueling travel schedule.

He became popular on the Chinese social media app Douyin, where he posted videos of his solo travels and amassed around 10,000 followers.

Dozens of viewers were shocked by his commitment to the itinerary.

“I’ve never seen someone so devoted to love,” one person wrote.

‘I wouldn’t travel such a long distance every week for nothing. It’s just too exhausting,” someone else wrote.

Chinese students made up the majority of new international student enrollments in Australia as of August 2024.

International students from China accounted for 22 percent of the 969,230 new enrollments.

Student visa holders need about $29,710 per person per year for living expenses, according to Australian government figures.